Ba’ath party has ‘contingency plan’

The excellent folks at MEMRI have an interesting report from the Kuwaiti daily paper Al-Watan about a contingency plan put forward by the “National Security Council” in Iraq that would put Saddam’s son, Qusay, in charge in the event of his father’s death.

Thanks again to the excellent folks at MEMRI, the Iraqi News Wire has an interesting report from the Kuwaiti daily paper Al-Watan about a contingency plan put forward by the “National Security Council” in Iraq that would put Saddam’s son, Qusay, in charge in the event of his father’s death. Qusay would take control of the Republican Guard and the Republican Guard/Special Units. It also calls on Iraq to use “all means in our possession” to defend itself, including the use of weapons of mass destruction and/or the dispatch of terrorist squads.
The document also calls for the reconquering of Iraqi Kurdistan, strikes against American forces in Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan, and “Special Operations” units to hit Israel. The full text is below:

"Considering the present situation in Iraq, and the serious threats from the U.S., Britain, and other parties in particular, which want to eliminate the Iraqi leadership represented in the person of president Saddam Hussein, the Ba'ath party and its leaders, and [considering] the emergence of western covetous intentions towards Iraq and its resources; Iraq -- leadership and people -- must defend itself by taking measures to undermine this possible aggression by cooperating with the honorable and goodhearted sons of the Arab nation and friends around the world."
"Therefore, the 'National Security Council' decided to implement a plan called 'Decisive Reaction' based on the principles of the glorious July Revolution and the spirit of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, to fight back globalization and to confront the danger looming over our people from the West, the plan calls for:"
"1- In case of any harm or ill-fate befall President Saddam Hussein personally, the leadership will revert automatically to comrade Qusay Saddam Hussein, who is in charge of the Republican Guard and the Republican Guard/Special Units. He will be vested with the same absolute authorities that President Saddam Hussein has in leading the country, the cabinet, and the army. Comrade Izzat Ibrahim Al-Dori will assume the responsibility for the party apparatus, while comrade Taha Yassin Ramadhan and comrade Tariq Aziz will be responsible for assisting Qusay Saddam Hussein in governing the country. This arrangement will continue until the situation stabilizes. An [official] State Decree will follow."
"2- Comrade Qusay Saddam Hussein will be responsible for developing an alternate plan to defend Baghdad, that will ensure complete protection from a possible air operation by the American and British enemy, or from acts of rioting that may occur in some areas of Baghdad. The plan should be presented to us within 72 hours after the deployment of the defending units and [assigning] their responsibilities, in a manner that prevents any gaps that could be used by the enemy or [could be used] to weaken the morale; and to secure absolute control over the entrances to Baghdad as soon as emergency and general curfew are declared a few hours following the attack."
"3- Considering that the purpose of the attack by the U.S., Israel, and the West is to eliminate the Iraqi leadership and to control [Iraq's] resources, and then control the Middle East region, it means that the Western philosophy of 'To Be or Not to Be' will dominate the situation. Therefore, we will use all means in our possession to defend our land and honor, regardless of type, quantity and manner, and regardless of consequences." [Here, Al-Watan adds a comment of its own saying: "We can consider this point as an authorization to use chemical weapons."]
"4- Therefore, we order all parties concerned to prepare the defenses as stipulated in file 314 'Decisive Reaction'."
"5- Expand the scope of war by returning the autonomous region [the Kurdish region in northern Iraq] to the control of the [central] leadership as soon as there are serious signs of an imminent attack on Iraq, and using the military bases there to undermine the enemy's ability to gain time and reexamine its previously formulated plans and actions to change the map and the status quo."
"6- In case diplomatic efforts fails to convince Turkey to refrain from aiding the U.S. and [allowing it] to use its air bases, we will be compelled to make it [Turkey] part of the battle to defend ourselves, by attacking selected targets in the depth of Turkey where political and military decisions are formulated, and where American forces are deployed."
"7- No military unit or air base, regardless of its nationality- whether in Israel or any Arab country that allows the U.S. and Britain to strike Iraq from its territory- will be safe from the hammer of our missiles and air force. We will deliver an early warning through diplomatic channels especially to Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Jordan [against] allowing the American forces to use their territories, or any foreign naval ship in the Arabian Gulf, which will be their graveyard."
"8- Prepare the 'Special Operations' units to implement the plans that were developed earlier to strike limited targets in Israel in cooperation with the Palestinian organizations and movements which had been contacted, and in some Gulf countries that assist the American and British forces, including Turkey which is considered the U.S. and Israel's ally number one in the area."
"9- Considering the viciousness of the political and military attack on Iraq, we will find ourselves compelled to take protective defensive and offensive measures inside Iraq and outside it, both militarily and diplomatically. This is the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its diplomatic missions and representatives, and the Iraqi intelligence apparatus through its stations, regardless of means and consequences."
"10- Instruct comrade Uday Saddam Hussein to prepare 'Saddam's Fedayins' and 'Al-Quds Army' and to coordinate with comrade Qusay Saddam Hussein and lieutenant general Defense Minister, and lieutenant general Commander of the Republican Guard and other defense organizations and party organizations, to [include] those two armies in the mobilization plans that were prepared earlier, or will be prepared later. Also, to prepare the 'Special Fedayin Units' responsible for special duties 712- A,B,G, to coordinate with the air force and army air commands."
"11- Instruct unit 999 to carry out its responsibilities, as soon as the order is issued, and to coordinate with comrade Uday Saddam Hussein as far as the mentioned responsibility in file 712-G."
"These instructions should be circulated based on specialties, in a manner that should facilitate operation and exact implementation of the plan, taking into consideration security issues."
"The vicious attack that our suffering nation is facing is an imperialistic-Zionist attack, which aims to discredit the honor and dignity of our struggling nation and the true religion of Islam; therefore it is our duty to take every measure that will undermine the opportunity for the enemy and for the weaklings whose weak souls led them into the arms of the West, motivated by their greed for a handful of dollars and [their efforts] to satisfy their Zionist masters."
"This plan should be implemented as soon as the orders are issued by those responsible for it, any one lagging will bear the responsibility for that."
"National Security Council"